By Marissa Wells
Contributing Writer
In 2052, Kat Keeper, a resistance fighter, is on the run after being accused of murdering the CEO of MIND, a powerful artificial intelligence corporation seeking control over everyone’s thoughts and memories.
Trapped in a locked-down New York during an extreme weather event, Kat and her allies must evade relentless enforcement bots sent by MIND to capture them. As she fights to survive, Kat races to stop the corporation from achieving total domination over humanity.
So goes, “Resist” by Lee Schneider. It’s the second book in the Utopia Engine Trilogy that follows Kat Keeper.
Schneider who describes climate change as “the existential crisis of our time,” was inspired to write this book series following his firsthand experience with long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.
“Southern California has always been about living a healthy lifestyle, with time to enjoy being outside,” Schneider said. “The smoke from the distant wildfires made that impossible; the air was hard to breathe; it made climate change real for me in an immediate way.”
It was important for Schneider to write a book that addresses such a significant topic.
“My job as a writer of this three-novel series is to populate the books with characters who face climate challenges and overcome them,” Schneider said. “My characters model a way to solve the enormous problems facing us.”
Within the book, characters face real-life issues such as loss, grief, complex relationships and more.
“Resist” is intended for readers who don’t typically gravitate towards science fiction.
“I’ve made a point of not getting too technical, even when I’ve researched a topic extensively,” Schneider said. “It’s not about the details. It’s about how the characters feel. People read books for the relationships they explore, not to measure how smart the author is.”
Schneider hopes readers of his book gain hope and optimism.
“If you read about a character working through a complex problem, it can be inspiring,” said the author.
In addition to being an author of novels, Schneider writes screenplays, teleplays, stage plays and audio drama podcasts. He lives with his family in Santa Monica. For more information about the author and his work, visit futurex.studio.
“Resist” is available for $9.99 (eBook) and $15.99 (paperback) via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Apple Books.
